The Wanderer
by Starlit Skyline
Summary: Reiko-centric. She knows that someday she'll find what she's looking for.


AN: Yet another Natsume fic, but I've finally gotten about to writing Reiko - I've wanted to do that for a while now. I hope you enjoy reading this just as much as I had writing it!

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The Wanderer

There once was a girl no one liked. She was a bit of an oddball, as you might have guessed already. She was always alone, but she didn't seem too fazed by this fact.

Often, she did strange things – and it wasn't just when nobody was looking. She didn't seem too bothered by what people might think of her.

She'd talk to herself and would pick fights with everyone around her. People liked to keep their distance from her – there was something off about her, something unnerving, and people had already written her off as a troublesome little nuisance.

This girl didn't pay attention to those prattling tongues however, and simply continued to dance with the wind as if someone was there dancing with her.

The ignorant people around her just snorted in disdain. The maniac picked fights even with the wind.

.

Human life is fleeting. Human hearts are unfaithful. Human words are full of deceit. Human eyes are blind. Human emotions are selfish and painful. Human charity is egotistical.

Humanity itself, is a bit overrated. To Reiko, the difference between humans and "monsters" was minimal. Besides, she'd met "monsters" that were much nicer than most of the people around her. At least they listened to her. At least the _youkai_ acknowledged her for who she was.

But still, human life is fleeting. She knows the _youkai_ around her will remain long after she is gone. She knows that they will forget her. They have forever to do so. Even though it is as such – even if human life is too short, it's also too long. For Reiko at least. So she picks fights to pass the time, she evaluates herself, she tries to make friends from time to time, she dreams–

She does it to kill time.

.

One day, she meets an old lady hiding in the bushes – mostly because the old lady tripped and planted her face in the mud a few feet from her.

Reiko does not laugh – because, contrary to popular belief, she _does_ havemanners – and gets up to help the old woman. When the woman asks for her mirror, the one she was inspecting a blooming bruise on her right cheek with – she gives it to her willingly.

The sight in the mirror isn't a pretty one – and it's not even because of the bruise. That mark was frustrating too. She hadn't even gotten it in a real fight – a one with a powerful youkai! – but from some human punk who she'd managed to annoy with her "eccentricity" in one way or another.

Che, stupid human.

Even though she holds a general dislike for people, she doesn't see a reason not to help them. Granny thanks her and leaves, before coming back the next day to return the mirror. Reiko waves her off. She doesn't need that thing anymore, and Granny could probably use it anyway. She likes it when people are thankful to her, which rarely happens – but just because it's so rare it's so important to her.

The next day Granny comes again and they talk. The next day is the same. As is the next and the cycle repeats itself blissfully for a good while.

She'd found herself looking forward to those daily meetings, excited even. It was exhilarating to talk to another human being – something she hadn't even realized she'd missed until it was dangling in front of her face. She wanted companionship – and even though some _youkai_ were willing to give it to her, what was she to them? Just an insignificant speck, a fly they'd entertained themselves with for a brief while to pass the time. They were worlds apart from her, and therefore there were a few things they couldn't understand. Humans could be immensely stupid, after all. Reiko herself couldn't understand them sometimes.

Humans, however, understood themselves even less.

Everyone understood loneliness though.

It's strange, Reiko had mused, to share her special little place with someone. It was far off from town, so fortunately no people passed there. She was alone there, with the scenery and a random _youkai_ now and then.

One day something clicks and then everything becomes clear. For a few days, she doesn't say anything – and waits until the question on her mind chews away a good portion of her sanity. In the end, she asks as bluntly as ever. "You're a spirit, aren't you Granny?" there's no point in hiding anymore.

It shouldn't have been a surprise, but still Reiko finds herself disappointed when the woman gives a brief nod.

She should have known better than to hope.

.

She decides to help the boy out on a whim – well, that and there was a _youkai_ involved, and she felt it was kind of her responsibility to make sure that they didn't cause too much trouble. The boy didn't do anything wrong anyway, just got his ball stuck in a tree.

It isn't hard to convince the little low-level to drop the ball. Honestly, how petty could you get? Stealing children's toys... oh well, it could have been worse. At least she got to tease the kid a bit.

She laughs when he pouts childishly and turns on her heel, ready to make her exit. The boy calls her back.

"Hey, wait!" he hesitates for a second, blushing. "Thanks!"

For a second, Reiko is stunned. A human being had thanked her, she had to be dreaming! Either that or the world was about to end. It didn't, but something just as annoying happened: "Look, fox-eye is here." A sneering voice called out across the field "Don't you know? You'll get cursed if you get close to her." It taunted the boy next to her.

The kid looked a bit unnerved and Reiko felt her temper flare. Great! She finally has a civil, normal conversation with another human being and now they were going to scare him off! And she'd wanted to tease him some more too!

"Go away!" one of them shouts and throws a rock at her, like she's some wild animal that needs to be scared off. Che, if they think they can intimidate her they have another thing coming.

She grabs the branch the kid had been using to poke his ball out of the tree and bats the rock away with such force and precision a professional baseball player would have been envious. "If you want to play, I can play with you." Not a full minute after the poisonous words had left her lips, the two boys left like the cowards they were, grumbling all the way. Idiots.

"Here, and thanks." She says, handing the branch back to the kid with a chuckle.

"Why are you laughing?" he demands "You should be angry!"

"It's okay." She answers with practiced ease, but it only seems to aggravate the boy more. With a battle cry he ran after the two teens. Reiko catches him before he can do anything stupid. The kid could get into a lot of trouble for picking fights (or rather, being beaten up) by some arrogant jerks. Reiko knows they aren't worth it, the kid obviously hasn't realized that yet. The gesture is endearing all the same.

For a brief moment, she contemplates if the boy's actually human. He's so nice to her, unlike any other person before him – but there's no spiritual power in him and he hadn't even seen the low-level _youkai_ hanging around it the branches above them. Nope, definitely human – but not yet as biased as the rest of their race. That's surprising. The discovery makes Reiko feel strangely giddy with herself.

He's a pretty fun kid to be around.

They bicker for a while more and she finds herself actually liking the boy – Shigeru, as he'd introduced himself.

It's almost like having a little brother, not that Reiko knows how that feels, but when the afternoon ends they go their separate ways.

She sees him from time to time around the neighborhood, but she's usually busy with one _ayakashi_ or another and his friends and classmates are too busy staring and whispering about her – no normal kid would approach her if they planned to retain any social life at all.

Shigeru does. Somehow, he manages to be nice to her and keep his friends (and she hopes he keeps them for life, if they aren't swept away by such a simple thing as a rumor they're the ones worth holding on to). He calls her scary once and laughs. He says the way she acts and talks is strange and it makes him want to figure out what she's thinking, how she sees the world.

Reiko finds that particular choice of words highly amusing.

Something in her expression must have given her away because he glares, but it's more like a pout than anything else. "What's so funny?" she just continues to smile mysteriously and that makes him scrunch up his chubby face into a fiercer glare. How cute.

Nothing good lasts long though, and soon the world of _youkai_ sweeps her away, back into its' secure embrace once again. She doesn't think she's ever felt so conflicted over something. She knows she can't do it though. She's never been a good liar, and even if Shigeru hates her at least he and his family will be safe. He'd be happy with or without her.

After that one trip to that warm household, she no longer plays with Shigeru. It isn't the kids fault, honestly, but he doesn't know that.

She couldn't bear to lie to him. What good was a life, if everything in it was false? What good was their friendship if their trust was a one-sided affair?

Still, she was thankful to Shigeru – at least now she was sure there were still half-decent people out in the world – waiting for her to find them.

She finds herself chuckling suddenly. Funny, she'd thought she'd lost faith in her fellow humans by now.

.

It might be stupid, but Reiko still has some faith in humanity left.

For that reason, Reiko continues to wander, hoping that somewhere along the road she'll meet someone who'd be willing to walk beside her – be it human or youkai.

It's the same difference.

. . .

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Review, please?


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